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Long-time,
habitual tea drinkers develop stronger bones, reducing their
risk of developing osteoporosis, according to researchers
at the National Cheng Kung University Hospital in Tainan,
Taiwan.
People
who drank an average of two cups of black, green or oolong
tea daily for at last six years had stronger bones, according
to the study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Tea contains
fluoride, caffeine and phytoestrogen, which researchers speculate
may help to strengthen bones.
Researchers
surveyed 497 men and 540 women, age 30 and older, about their
tea drinking, and the participants were all given a bone mineral
density test.
A total
of 48.4 percent of the survey respondents were habitual tea
drinkers with an average duration of tea consumption of ten
years. Participants drank primarily green or oolong tea without
milk, thus eliminating the bone-building calcium found in
dairy products.
The highest
overall bone-mineral density was found in tea drinkers who
drank tea regularly for more than a decade. Their bone density
was 6.2 percent higher than in non-frequent tea drinkers.
No significant
differences were found between those who drank tea for one
to five years and non-habitual tea drinkers. Results were
about the same regardless of the type of tea, according to
the study.
Source:
Medical Week staff,
week of May 19, 2002
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